Ideal Suitor
by SSBFreak
Summary: Panda King, after his time with the Cooper Gang, continues screening men for his daughter. However, there is a lingering thought in the back of his head that won't go away: Maybe he had already let the perfect man slip through his fingers...


It was a quiet day in a small village in China. Two lonely houses sat on a hill, with a huge crowd of men standing outside a large set of gates at the bottom of the hill. They were all looking to get in for one reason, but would only be let in one at a time. The reason these men were standing outside the gates was because they were hoping to court and wed the beautiful young woman who lived on the house further up the hill.

However, some were too afraid to go in and simply turned away, briskly walking back to where they came from. This was because of the inhabitant of the closer house, who was scanning the crowd intently. This man had a towering and intimidating stature and cast a dark, judging look at the crowd of men, and this seemed to be enough to scare some of them off.

Then again, the fact that he was also holding a huge cannon in one arm may have had something to do with it.

Panda King silently rocked back and forth in his chair as he sat on his front porch, scanning the potential suitors for his daughter, his beloved Jing King. This day's group of suitors didn't hold very much promise. Most of them looked spineless and the majority of the ones that didn't had turned away at his intimidating stature and crawled back to their holes.

The huge panda grunted. None of these men were even close to being worthy suitors in the mind of the Panda King. Jing King only deserved the best.

Panda King sighed as he sat back. It had been several months since he had returned to China after helping with the Cooper Vault job and he had almost only been scanning potential suitors for his daughters, being let down and underwhelmed each time.

After the whole incident with General Tsao, Panda King wanted to make sure that he would get his beloved daughter the man she deserved; someone that would treat her well and take care of her. Hearing what Jing had gone through under the captivity of Tsao, Panda King would make sure to scan over each man that came her way several times.

Still, even after several months of doing this, Panda King had yet to find a man suitable for his daughter. If one of them were to approach the huge mountain of panda, who was always armed with his trusty fireworks cannon, and didn't react in a scared fashion, Panda King would permit him to see his daughter. Those who looked the least bit afraid approaching Panda King were promptly turned away. After all, if a man were to run away in cowardice at the girl's father, then what good would they be at protecting her from men like Tsao?

During this particular day, Panda King's mind started to wander. His time spent with the Cooper Gang had indeed sparked some sort of change in him. Yes, he was initially extremely-reluctant to join forces with the man that humiliated him, but after coming to the conclusion that Sly Cooper was willing to work with him despite Panda King taking part in killing his parents, Panda King was able to move past something as simple as humiliation. It took a long time for him to admit it to himself, but Panda King finally realized that Cooper was indeed the better man.

It wasn't just Sly himself that brought up some form of change in Panda King. The huge man found himself thinking back to another member of the Cooper Gang, and one of Sly's closest friends. His bright pink skin and huge girth wouldn't have logically made him an ideal thief, but Panda King felt that he was the true heart of the team.

Panda King was always seen with his fireworks cannon while screening these crowds of men, but he knew that the pink hippo on the Cooper Gang was the one man that he would never raise his weapon against…

Panda King could still remember Murray's overflowing joy at finding his beloved van again, swearing never to leave "her" again, going so far as to personally drag the frozen van through Tsao's village himself. Panda King was so touched at Murray's dedication that he voluntarily provided cover for the huge hippo, swearing to himself that none of Tsao's goons would touch him.

That was Panda King's first act with the Cooper Gang, even if he wasn't technically a member back then. Murray's loyalty to something he cherished more than his own life sparked a new fire inside Panda King, and helped the mountain of man gain a newfound resolve to be there for his daughter.

However, there was something else about Murray that Panda King was interested in. Murray had shown a completely-unprecedented amount of resolve and determination towards an inanimate object; An object that he cherished dearly, but still an object. Panda King could only wonder what kind of resolve and loyalty Murray would show towards a loved one rather than an object.

It was something Panda King didn't realize until a good few months after the Cooper Vault job. Something he was still kicking himself for not realizing sooner, and something he would hate himself for not acting on when he had the chance:

Murray was the optimal suitor for Jing.

Murray had only conversed with Panda King's daughter for a short while before the gang departed China, but the two seemed to get along well and Murray treated Jing with the greatest respect. Part of Panda King wondered if he was trying to be courteous because Jing had literally just been freed from the clutches of Tsao and was likely still shaken up, but Panda King was extremely-grateful that this unusual man had given her the amount of respect he did.

Panda King knew that Murray was the muscle of the team, and during the numerous jobs he saw Murray do, the panda knew that Murray's loyalty to his friends was near-unmatched. If Murray ever found love for someone, Panda King knew that the hippo would do whatever was in his power to keep his beloved safe. Panda King never made the connection that Murray could have been the perfect suitor he was looking for. Unfortunately, by the time Panda King realized it, Murray had already moved on, becoming a professional racer with the van he loved.

Looking back on it now, Panda King wished that he could have brought Jing up to Murray while they were on the road and hopefully get the hippo thinking about settling down with her, but it was far too late at this point. Panda King would have to live with his lack of thought and action and resort to simply sitting on his porch, scanning these waves of potential suitors who, in his mind, would never hold an ounce of the loyalty and resolve that Murray had.

Panda King was often tempted to simply stand up and go find Murray to tell him about his daughter, attempting to bring the two together, but that would involve leaving Jing again, and Panda King didn't want to risk her forcibly getting married while he was gone.

No. Panda King would have to wait for Murray to come to HIM. Perhaps Panda King would have to wait until he heard about a big race or demolition derby nearby, something that would be sure to attract Murray. He would have to hope that Murray, if he was ever in China, would come to visit on his own accord. If he ever did, Panda King would try to at least get Murray and Jing better acquainted, and hopefully get something sparked between them.

Sighing to himself, Panda King sat back. Perhaps the reason he was sending all these men away was because they couldn't meet the expectations that Murray himself had set. Maybe it was because Panda King was so determined to set Jing up with Murray that he automatically sent away anyone else.

The determined father paused for a moment, then continued rocking back and forth in his chair. He continued to give off his intimidating stature and never let go of his fireworks cannon. His daughter deserved the best, and he would find it.

Even if it couldn't be Murray, he would find someone with his loyalty, no matter how long it took…

END


End file.
